Knitting machine



Oct. 18, 1932. T, COLE 1,883,581

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet l 0a. 18, 1932. B. T.COLE KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 2% Baa/wedZimnraw C04:

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KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Bsmnnp Zion/r0 00L:

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KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 37 My af Oct. 18,1932. COLE 1,883,581

' KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9; 1929 6 sheets-Sheep 5 1 1 7611, g3 21 ll 0 E as? 3 9 5 lie 352N040 vKlan/raw Caz: lTvamw-az Oct. 18, 1932. B.T. COLE KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9. 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Baa/appZ70A-7-0- C045 JI/l/avrae m* Patented Oct. 18, 1932 PATENT OFFICEBERNARD THORNTON COLE, O1 LEICESTER, ENGLAND KNITTING MACHINEApplication filed November 9, 1929, Serial No. 405,889, and in GreatBritain Iovember 12, 1928.

This invention comprises improvements in or relating to circularknitting machines and in the production of fabrics thereon, an importantobject of the invention being to provide an improved mode of and meansfor producing shaped or fashioned fabrics or articles on circularknitting machines.

A particular object of the invention is to provide means whereby afashioned seamless hose may be produced on a circular knitting machine.

According to the present invention a circular knitting machine isprovided wherein needles and sinkers are introduced at predeterminedintervals between other needles already in operation, for the purpose ofvaryin the shape of the fabric or article being knltted on the machine.

A predetermined number of the needles and sinkers may be selectivelyintroduced between other needles already in operation to produceadditional stitches in the knitted fabric at positions previouslyoccupied by sinker wales.

It is well known in the art that in the production of plain knittedfabric a loop is sunk or drawn between each pair of needles in operationbut in accordance with this invention a knitting machine is providedwith means for enabling loops to be sunk or drawn between apredetermined number, less than n the total number, of pairs of theoperative needles and for varying the number ofsaid loops during theproduction of different knitted courses, to vary the number of stitchesin said courses and produce shaped or fashioned fabric.

A sha ed or fashioned knitted tube, i. e..

one or more of said needles and oneor more sinkers are selectivelyintroduced into and maintained in operation until the full normalcomplement of needles and sinkers is in operation when the maximumdiameter of the said tube will be produced.

For the purpose of more fully describing the nature of this inventionreference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figures1 and 2 are a side and rear elevation respectively of a portion of afashioned seamless stocking capable of being produced on a circularknitting machine according to this invention.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic plan'view of an arrangement of needles and100 sinkers in a circular knitting machine acco ing to this invention.

Figures 4 and 5 are enlar ed detail views illustrating diagrammatical yanumber of the loop forming elements shown in Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a side elevation of art of a circular knitting machineadapte for the production of the hose shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 7 is a continuation of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a part sectional elevation showing the needle cylinder andsinker mountings of the machine shown in Figure 6.

Figure 9 is an inverted plan view of of the sinker cam box of themachine an associated sinker selecting cam.

Figure 10 is an enlarged elevation of one of the selectable sinkers ofthe machine. 1

Figure 11 is a fragmental elevation illustrating means for selecting thesinkers of the machine.

Figure 12 is a part-sectional elevation illustrating means for selectingthe needles of the machine.

Figure 13 is an elevation of the needle operating cams of the machine.

Figure 14 is an enlarged elevation of one of lthe fashioning needles andits associated ae Figure 15 is a detail elevation of mechanism forcontrolling the sinker and needle selecting means.

Fig. 16 is a sectional plan view through the art lower part of thecontrol drum shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. '17 is a detail view showing in enlarged elevation a form of jackused 1n connect1on with an ordinary or non-fashionlng needle, and 1 Fig.18 is a detail view, in enlarged elevation, of one of thenon-selectablesmkers.

By way of example, a convenient method of carrying out this inventionWlll now be described as applied to the production of seamless fashionedstockings or the like as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Such a stockingmay be produced upon a circular knitting machine of any known orapproved type having a complete circular row of needles 1, see Figure 3,accommodated within tricks formed in a rotating needle cylinder, in thecustomary manner and having a co-operating circular row of sinkers 2,one of which normally operates between each pair of the said needles.

Fashioning or shape is imparted to the leg portion of the stocking byincreasing the number of knitted loops or stitches in the continuousspiral rows extending upwards from the ankle portion of the hose to aconvenient height in the leg, say the upper part of the calf, the saidfashioned area being preferably provided centrally at the rear of theleg.

Certain of the needles and sinkers extending around one section of thecircumference of the needle cylinder, which will hereinafterconveniently be referred to as the rear section, have associatedtherewith means, hereinafter fully described for enabling selected ofsaid needles and sinkers to be moved from an inoperative to an operativeposition. The selectable needles are designated 1a and con venientlycomprise every third needle of those positioned in'the said rear sectionof the machine and the selectable sinkers, designated 2a, areconveniently those sinkers positioned next adjacent to each of theselectable needles 1a on each side thereof.

' The knitting of the seamless fashioned hose is commenced at the toeand continued along the foot, heel and up the leg to the top or welt,the toe and heel being produced in the well known manner byreciprocative motion and the foot and leg by circular motion.

Prior to making the customary linking courses or starting to knit thetoe, all of the selectable or fashioning needles 1a and the selectablesinkers 2a are withdrawn from operation and the toe, foot, heel andankle portions of the stocking are produced by the remaining needles andsinkers in operation. Upon the needles 1a being withdrawn, the pairs ofremaining operative needles 1 in the rear section of the needle cylinderare spaced by gaps of a width equal to two needle spaces and upon thesinkers 241 being also withdrawn, it will be appreciated that thestitches produced by the needles 1 on each side of every inoperativeneedle la will be joined by a thread bar extending across the gap leftby the withdrawn needle (Fig. 5), and as the inoperative sinkers do notengage and push forward said bar, same will be drawn comparativelytightly across said gap. If, however, the amount of thread sunk by theoperative sinkers 2 between adjacent needles 1 is sub,- stantially thesame as is that bridging the gap a between operative needles 1 where thesinkers 2a and needle 1a are withdrawn, (see Figures 4 and 5,) thelength of the sinker wales of the fabric will be substantially constant.(By the term sinker wale is to be understood the Wale between adjacentneedle wales irrespective of whether the wale is sunk by a sinker ornot.) Consequently although the vertical wales or sinker wales formed atthe positions of the withdrawn needles 1a and associated sinkers 2a areof necessity somewhat different in appearance from the ordinary sinkerwales formed by sinkers operating between adjacent operating needles 1,it has been found that the subsequent dressing and /or finishing and/orstretching process to i which stockings are customarily subjected hasthe result of eliminating any apparent existing difference. That is tosay the leg portion of the finished hose is uniform in texture andappearance.

After knitting the ankle portion of the stocking the inoperative needlesla together with their HSSOCIat-Qd'SIDkGIS 2a are selective- 1y broughtinto operation at predetermined intervals and in a predetermined orderto increase the number of stitches produced at the subsequent courses ofknitting. and thereby produce a shaped or fashioned area A centrally atthe rear of the stocking leg. The replacing or introduction of theneedles 1a and sinkers 2a is continued at intervals (conveniently to theheight H shown in Figure 2) until all of the needles and sinkers are inoperation and the full complement of stitches is being produced in eachrow or course, after which all needles operate to the finish of thestocking top or welt.

In one arrangement the fashioning of the stocking leg is commenced bybringing into knitting position the two withdrawn needles and the foursinkers associated therewith that are located at each end of the rearsection of the machine on which said fashioning is accomplished, thusincreasing by four the number of stitches in a complete course. Knittingis then continued for any desired number of revolutions or courses withthe additional four needles and their sinkers in operation, after whichtwo further needles 1a on each side with their associated sinkers 2a,next adjacent to those needles and sinkers previously replaced, arebrought into action and knitting is continued for a number of furthercourses, said courses thus containing four additional stitches. Thisintroduction of needles and sinkers is repeated until the full numberare in operation, the number of courses between eachreplacement beingadvantageously e ual.

At each position where a needle 1a and two sinkers 2a are broughtinto-operation a small hole'B is formed in the fabric (Figures 1 and 2),and where said needles are introduced in pairs, said holes will alsoappear in pairs.

These holes B constitute fashion marks which graduall converge'up theback of the stock mg, as s own. It is to be understood, however, thatthe displaced needles 1a and sinkers 20 may be introduced in any desiredsequence on selected courses.

In the embodiment illustrated herewith the needles 1 and 1a areaccommodated in tricks formed in the machine cylinder 3 which is rotatedin any convenient manner from the main drive of the machine and eachneedle is provided with a knitting butt 1b. and an operating jack 4 islocated in the same cylinder trick or groove as its needle andpositioned directly beneath same (see Figs. 14 and 17) The needlesaround one half of the c linder are provided with long butts 1b and t eneedles around the other half of the cylinder are provided with shortbutts 16, for the purpose of operating the needles in the well knownmanner during the production of the heel and toe of a stocking.

The jacks 4 (see Fig. 18) appertaining to the non-selectable needles 1are plain jacks having a single long butt 4a positioned at or near thelower extremity of the jack, but the jacks 4 (see Fig. 14) appertainingto the selectable needles 1a are each provided with an additionalselecting butt 4?). The height and the length of these buttsdetermines-the sequence in which they are selected for operation so thatby providing butts at different heights and of different length, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 14, increased selectivity is obtairfid;

Referring to Figure 13, a fixed clearing cam 5 is provided adapted toengage with the long butts 4a on the jacks appertaining to thenon-selectable or ordinary needles 1,

'to cause the said needles to clear their old loops and move into aposition whereat they will be caused to pass along the path shown by thedotted line at b in the upper part of the figure to knit in thecustomary manner underthe influence of the customary knittin cams.

The ]acks 4 appertaining to the selectable needles 1a, having a shortbutt 4a, normally miss the clearing cam 5 and the butts 16 on the saidneedles are caused to engage with a lowering cam 6 which moves the saidneedles beneath the customary knitting cam system along the pathindicated by the dash and dot line 0 and prevents such latter needlesfrom taking and knitting the thread or threads. When it is desired tomove a needle 1a into operation, one of a plurality of superposedselecting cams 7 is moved to engage the jack butts 4b of'a predeterminedlength and provided at the same height as the said cam. This cam thenelevates the jack and causes same to move the butt 1?) on thecorresponding needle into a position where it will follow the pathindicated at b, causing said needle to take thread and knit in thecustomary manner.

In order to minimize the strain upon the needles, while same are passingthrough the knitting cam system, a cam 40 positioned at the lower partof the needle cylinder operates upon all of the jack butts 4a to lowersame and separate the jack from the needle, the jacks being again movedinto position directly beneath the needles, after the latter have passedthrough the knitting system by virtue of the jack butts 4a riding up anelevating cam surface 4d.

The superposed selecting cams 7 are conveniently mounted, as shown inFigures 6 and 12, in an upstanding bracket or casting 8 secured to theframe 9 of the machine, the said cams being normally held out ofengagement with the jack butts 46 by means of suitably connected coiledsprings 10. The lower fixed clearing cam 5 may also be supported by thebracket 8 and be fixedly secured therein by means of one or more screwsor the like 11.

The selective introduction of the cams 7 to move predetermined of theneedles 1a into operation may be effected through a plurality ofsuperposed substantially centrally pivoted levers 12 each having its oneextremity in engagement with pro ecting superposed cam pieces 12?;(Figures 7 and 16) secured to the periphery of a control dru-m 12aadapted for intermittent rotation about a vertical axis. Each of the campieces 12?) is of differing depth to cause its corresponding lever tointroduce its cam to varying extents whereat it will engage with thediffering lengths of the butt 4b provided on the jack at the same heightas the said cam.

All of the sinkers in the machine are mounted for horizontalreciprocation in the customary manner in radial tricks in an annular bed13 (Figure 8) provided around the upper part of the needle cylinder andall of the sinkers 2 that are interposed between the non-selectableneedles 1 are reciprocated to sink their loops between the said needlesunder the influence of-a stationary annular cam ring 14 positioned abovethe sinkers.

Yarn feeding and changing mechanism 150 and a latch ring 16 of anysuitable or known type are also provided mounted above the sinkers inany convenient manner.

The selectable sinkers 2a are conveniently of a shape illustrated inFigure 10, the forward end portion 26 of the sinker being of thecustomary shape and identical with the forward extremity of theremaining sinkers 2 -.ber 15 encircling the sin er bed 13 and cams 14 atthe upper part of the machine cylinder. The ordinar sinkers 2 are of theshape illustrated in ig. 18, and the projecting cam 14a on the sinkercam 14 is accommodated within a space 2e between a butt 2f and avertical edge 2g on the said sinker. The cam 14a controls in the mainthe operation of the ordinary sinkers 2, the actual extent to which theysink the loop being governed by a smaller cam piece 14b hereinaftertermed the knock-over cam, which engages with the rear edge of the butt2;. This butt is provid: ed on the tail or rear extremity of the ordinarsinkers 2 and at a position substantially mi way in the length of theselectable sinkers 2a.

The non-selectable sinkers 2 are moved to a position to be actuated bythe cam 14?; by virtue of the spaces 2e in the said sinkers being ofapproximately the same width as is the cam 14a. These sinkers are,therefore, moved both inwardly and outwardly by the cam 14a and aredrawn inwardly by the left hand portion of the cam to be engaged by thecam 14?).

The space 26 provided in the selectable sinkers 2a is. greater than thecorresponding space provided in the ordinary sinkers and as aconsequence the cam 14a only operates on the forward edge of the butts2f provided on the said sinkers 2a to move same outwardly to aninoperative position. When it is desired to introduce the said sinkers2a positioned one on each side of a needle 1a, which has been broughtinto operation in the manner previously described, a member 17 Fig. 11)having a concave cam face 17a Figure 9) is lowered to engage with one ofthe butts 2d provided on the said sinkers. The cam 17 thrusts thesinkers with which it engages into a position whereat the rear face ofthe butts 2 on the said sinkers engage with the knocking-over cam 14band causes said sinkers to operate in unison with the ordinary sinkers2.

It will be understood that variable selection of the sinkers foroperation is effected by the cam 17 according to the position at whichone or more of the butts 2d is or are provided on the said sinkers andto the extent to which the said cam is lowered to engage therewith. Theparticular sinker illustrated in Figure 10, having its full complementof butts 2d,

will be operated at the first and each subsequent selective displacementof the cam 17.

The sinkers to be introduced at the second displacement of the cam 17,the operation of which cam is hereinafter more fully described, have theuppermost butt 2d removed. The sinkers to be introduced at the thirddisplacement of the said lever each have their two uppermost buttsremoved. The fourthly introduced sinkers each have their three uppermostbutts removed and so on. Certain of the sinkers, which ma be providedwith the lowermost butt 2d on y, would only be selected for operationwhen the cam 17 has been lowered to its fullest extent.

The cam 17, see Figure 11, is mounted for vertical sliding displacementupon a vertically disposed bar 18 supported at its upper part by anupstanding bracket 19 secured to a cover member 20 for the cylindricalsinker mounting 15, the ,said cam being normally retained in itsuppermost position by a coiled spring 21 anchored to the said bracket 19and the cam 17. The cam 17 has projecting therefrom a pin 22 which isengaged by the one extremity 23a of a pivoted lever 23 adapted to bedisplaced to move the said cam downwardly into engagement with thesinkers to be selected and the required displacement of the lever iseffected by stepped cam portions 120 secured to the upper peripheralparts of the verticall disposed control drum 12a, a roller 23?) eingprovided at one extremity of the said lever 23 and adapted to ride upthe inclined forward edges 12d of the said cam pieces 120. The lever 23is pivotally mounted on an up standing bracket 24 secured to anyconvenient part of the machine and the extremity 23a of the said leverthat engages with the projecting pin 22 is suitably shaped as shown toensure the accurate displacement of the cam 17 by the said lever;

Intermittent rotation of the vertical needle and sinker selectingcontrol drum 12a is effected by a pawl member 25, see Figure 7, engagingwith a ratchet wheel 26 secured at the lower part of the said drum. Thepawl member 25 is pivotally mounted on a member 27 which is freelyrotatable about the vertical spindle 28 to which the drum is secured andthe pawl 25 is normally maintained in contact with the ratchet wheel 26under the influence of a suitably arranged coil spring 29. The member 27is under the influence of a coiled spring 30 which tends to rotate saidmember in a clockwise direction and hold a projecting portion of same inengagement with the upper extremity of a pivoted lever 31 which receivesmotion from a lever 32, a section only of which is illustrated, andwhich is normally continuously oscillated in the direction of thearrows. The oscillating lever 32 is associated with other mechanism ofthe machine which, not being pertinent to this invention, is notillustrated and engages with the lower part of the lever 31 pivotally todisplace same and impart the necessary motion to the member 27 and pawlto rack the drum 12a. The lever 32 is shown in end elevation in Fi re 15and when desired the lever is withhe (1 from oscillation by virtue of apivoted clawker member 33 engaging with a stepped ortion or member 32aprovided on the said lhver the said clawker member being allowed to moveinto engagement with the part 32a when an integral arm 33b of the saidclawker falls, under the influence of a spr ng 330, into on agement withthe main timing chain 34 of t e machine.

The clawker member 33 is provided with a further laterally projectingportion 33d which extends beneath a laterally projecting portion 31a onthe racking lever 31 and when the clawker arm 33?) moves into engagementwith a raised link 35 on the timing chain 34, the said projection 33d ismoved to a position where same will allow the lever 31 to be pivotallydisplaced by the oscillating lever 32 to rack the druml2a. When,however, the clawker arm 33?) is displaced to a greater extent by ahigher link 36 on the chain 34, the projection 33d is raised and itselfdisplaces the lever 31 to a position whereat the oscillating lever 32will not engage with the lower extremity of the said lever 31 and thedrum is withheld from rotation. Thus the rotating and stationary periodsof the control drum 12a are determined by the chain 34 and the links 35and 36 thereon.

It is, however, desirable during certain periods in the operation of themachine to withhold the control drum 12a from rotation but still allowthe lever 32 to oscillate and the higher links 36 are provided todiscontinue the racking of the control drum during such periods.

The production of a seamless fashioned stocking on a machine of theabove type will now be described and for the purposes of illustration itwill be assumed that the machine has a full complement of'300 needlesand similar number of sinkers.

' As previously stated, the knitting of the stocking is commenced at thelinking courses and the toe and during the knitting thereof all of theselectable needles 1a and sinkers 2a of which there are conveniently 60and 120 respectively, are out of operation, all of the needle selectingcams 7 being withdrawn and the sinker selecting cam 17 being moved toits highest position. At this position the levers 12 and 23 are out ofengagement with the cams'12b and 120 on the control drum 12a.

The needle cylinder is reciprocated and pickers 37 and 38 operate toproduce the toe pocket in the well known manner. Continuous rotation ofthe machine is then commenced to produce the foot and this is folionedrear portion A in the stocking. At this position a link 35 on the maintiming chain 34 engages with the clawker arm 33b to allow the controldrum 12a to rack and the lowermost of the levers 12 is caused to on gothe portion of the lowermost cam 126 w 'ch is of the smallest depth andthe lowermost of the cams 7 is introduced to engage with those jackshaving the longest lowermost butts 4b, to move the corresponding needlesla into operation. These needles are conveniently located atsubstantially diametrically opposed positions in the needle cylinder atthe extremities of the rear section thereof and simultaneously with thesaid needles being selectively moved into operation the lever 23 isbrought into engagement with the lowermost cam 120 to lower the cam 17into engagement with those selectable sinkers provided with theuppermost sinker butt 2d, these sinkers being located one on each sideof the needles 1a that have been brought into operation. Thus 4additional needles and 8 additional sinkers have been moved into operation and the courses of the stocking subsequently knitted willaccordingly include 4 additional stitches and be of correspondinglylarger diameter than the portions of the stocking previously produced.

A predetermined number of courses including these 4 additional stitchesare knitted and another link 35 is then brought into a position tocontinue the racking of the control drum and the lowermost lever 12 isfurther displaced to introduce its cam to a greater extent to engagewith the needle jacks aving a lowermost butt 4b of medium length. Thisaction selects for operation the needles appertaining to these jacks,such needles bein the two pairs next adjacent to the previous y selectedpairs of needles. Si-

multaneously with this second selection of tion.

There are now 8 additional needles and 16 additional sinkers inoperation and a convenient number of courses'are knitted before thecontrol drum is again racked to cause the lowermost of the cams 7 to befurther introduced to engage with the shortest of the lowermost butts 4band the cam 17 to be further lowered to engage with the third highestbutts 2d and select 4 further needles and 8 further sinkers and knit aleg portion of the stocking of correspondingly increased diameter.

Upon the drum 12a being again racked, the second lowermost of the levers12 is caused to engage with its first depth of cam 12?) and the cam 17is again lowered as before and 4 more needles and 8 more sinkers aremoved into operation.

It is to be noted from Fig. 16 that the com mencing portions of the cams126 on the drum 12a, i. e., those portions of smallest depth, arestaggered or stepped so that the second lowest portion 126 will notdisplace its lever until the lowermost portion has .displaced its leverto its fullest extent. Similarly, the third cam portion will notdisplace. its lever until the second cam portion has fully operated, andthe two uppermost cams are arranged to operate in a similar manner.

The racking of the control drum is continued until the full complementof needles and sinkers are in operation, which position convenientlyconincides with the production of the upper part of the calf of the hoseleg as indicated at H.

The production of the remainder of the stocking is then continued in thecustomary manner, the control drum 12a being withheld from rotation byvirtue of a high link 36 on the main control chain 34 engaging with theclawker arm 33 to displace the lever 31 out of engagement with theoscillating lever 32.

Upon completion of the stocking a number of supplementary courses areknitted and then a clearing cam 39, see Figures 12 and 13, is thrustinwardly, through pivoted lever mechanism 40, displaced by a cam 41 onthe main pattern disc 42 of the machine to cause all of 1152 needles tobe raised to clear their oldfipfips beneath their latches and, duringthe fioduction of this course, the control drum12a is racked until allof the levers 12 and the lever 23 have moved out of engagement with thecams 12b and 120 respectively to cause all of the selectable needles andsinkers to be withdrawn ready for the commencement of the production ofanother stocking. 1

It will be appreciated that the particular arrangement of butts and camson the selectable needles and sinkers above described may be varied inmany ways, for example, instead of providing the butts 242 on thelateral enlargement 2c of the sinkers 2a, such butts could convenientlybe provided on the upper part of a longitudinal extension of the saidsinkers. Such butts could also be of varying length and a separate andindipendent operating cam could be provided for each of the said butts,such cams being adapted for vertical selective movement vertically. Thesinkers may also be selectively operated through the medium of separatesuitably positioned jacks.

A machine as above described for producing a seamless fashioned stockingmay also embody means for knitting into the said stocking either squareor pyramid high splicing above the heel and where pyramid high splicingis to be provided, as indicated at C, Figures 1 and 2, the taper of thespliced area may be arranged to coincide with or be parallel to thefashioned area A in the leg portion of a stocking.

It is also to be understood that the present invention is by no meanslimited to the production of fashioned stockings and the principle ofselectively introducing into operation needles and/or sinkers to produceshaped fabric or articles may be applied to many diverse types ofknitting'machines.

I claim 1. In a circular knitting machine, the combination of knittingneedles, sinkers dis posed between the needles, means for operatingthese to knit a tubular fabric,certain of the needles and sinkers beingdisplaceable so as to remain inoperative,means for introducing needlesand sinkers that have been displaced between other needles already inoperation for the purpose of varying the effective width of the fabricproduced.

2. In a circular knitting machine, a needle cylinder, needlesdisplaceably mounted in sald cylinder, a sinker carrier, sinkersdisplaceably mounted in said carrier, and means for selectivelyintroducing at predetermined intervals needles and sinkers which havebeen moved to an inoperative position in said cylinder and carrier toposition to operate between needles already in the operative position.

3. In a circular knitting machine needles and sinkers arranged insuccession, means for rendering inoperative selected needles,

means for rendering inoperative the sinker located on each side of eachof said selected needles, and means for selectively re-introducing aneedle and a sinker located on each side thereof during selected knittedcourses.

4. In a circular knitting machine, needles and sinkers arranged insuccession, selected of the needles and selected of the sinkers beingdisplaceable from an inoperative to an operative position betweenneedles already in operation, each selected sinker having a plurality ofbutts provided on a lateral enlargement thereof, a vertically adjustablecam, said cam functioning to move selected of said sinkers with lateralenlargements from an inoperative to an operative position, and cam meansfunctioning to displace the selected needles from the inoperative to theoperative position.

5. In a circular knitting machine, needles and sinkers arranged inalternation, certain of these being displaceable so as to beinoperative, means for effecting the operation of these parts to causeknitting, and displaceable cam means for moving selected of t'he needlesand of the sinkers from an inoperative to an operative posltion betweenneedles already in operation.

6.. In a circular knitting machine, needles with sinkers operatingtherebetween, means for operating these to effect the knitting of afabric, selected of the needles and sinkers being displaceable so as tobecome inoperative, jacks having special butts, cooperating with theneedles that may be displaced to be inoperative, special butts on thesinkers that are displaceable so as to be inoperative; and cam meansadapted to cooperate with the said special butts of the jacks and thespecial butts of the sinkers arranged to move selected of the needlesand sinkers from inoperative positions to operative positions betweenneedles already inoperation.

7. In a circular knitting machi e, needles with sinkers operatingtherebetweencertain of the needles and sinkers being displaceable so as.to be inoperative; and a traveling cam device adapted to contro thedisplacement of selected of the needles and sinkers and move them froman inoperative to an operative position between needles already inoperation.

8. In a circular knitting machine, a circular row of needles, a circularrow of sinkers operating between said needles, means for temporarilyretaining selected of the needles and sinkers in an inoperativeposition, means for laying thread across all operative needles, meansfor moving the said operative needles and the operative sinkers to knitthe said thread into a tubular fabric, means for introducing selected ofthe saidinoperative needles and sinkers at predetermined intervals intooperation between needles already in operation, means for moving eachoperative sinker, to sink a predetermined length of thread between thepair of needles between which it operates and means for spacing theneedles redetermined distances apart so that the ength of thread laidbetween each pair of operative needles having no sinker o eratingtherebetween is the same as the sai predetermined len h of thread sunkby each operative sin er, whereby a fashioned fabric is roduced whichwhen dressed and finishe is of uniform texture throughout.

9. In a circular knitting machine, needles with sinkers operatintherebetween, means for moving selected 0 said needles and sink-,

ers from an inoperative positionto an operative-po sition betweenneedles already in operation, and a traveling cam member for controllingthe said selective movement of the needles and sinkers.

10. In a circular knitting machine, needles with sinkers operatingtherebetween, meansv for selectively mov'ing certain of the said needlesand sinkers from an inoperative posi tion to an operative positionbetween other needles alread in o eration, a vertically adjustable camor e ecting the said selective movement of the said sinkers, levermechanism for adjusting the said sinker selecting cam, and anintermittently rotating cam drum controlling the said lever mechanism.

11. In a circular knitting machine, needles with sinkers operatingtherebetween, means for selectively moving certain of the said sinkersfrom an inoperative position to an operative position between needlesalready in operation, and cams which select and move certain of the saidneedles from an inoperative position to an operative position and alsomove the said selected needles to a position in which the thread loopsthereon are clearly beneath the needle latches.

12. In a circular knitting machine, needles with sinkers operatingtherebetween, means for selectively moving certain of said needles andsinkers in pretermined combinations from an inoperative position to anoperative position between needles already in operation, and a singletraversing member-for controlling the said selection and movement of thesaid needles and sinkers.

13. In a circular knitting machine, needles with sinkers operatingtherebetween, means for selecting and moving predeterminedcombinationsof said needles and sinkers from an inoperative position toan operativeposition between needles already in operation, a n singlerotating cam drum for controlling the said selection and movement of thesaid needles and sinkers, pawl and ratchet mechanism through which thesaid cam drum is adapted to be intermittently rotated, a nor- 105 mallycontinuously moving lever for operating the said pawl, and ratchetmechanism and a traversing pattern chain for controlling the movement ofthe said lever.

BERNARD THORNTON COLE.

